# What Is Your State's License Plate Numbering Convention? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2005, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713 "2005-07-22T22:37:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/41 "2005-08-09T20:51:53Z")
Massachusetts, where I’m originally from, used to be LLL NNN, then went to LL NNNN, then I think NN LL NN. If they would only reissue the old plate numbers no longer in use, they wouldn’t have keep coming up with new and annoying way of doing it. The thing I really want to know is what do the plates in Isreal look like? Do they use Hebrew or Roman letters. What about for the numbers, as the letters are also a numbering system. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/42 "2005-08-09T21:06:13Z")
> [@Nunavut Boy](#): > > Also, in my last terse reply I forgot to add that my licence plate is shaped like a polar bear and says “Explore Canada’s Arctic” across the top and “Nunavut” across the bottom. Apparently when Nunavut seceded from the NWT there was some commotion over whether or not Nunavut could still use the polar bear plates. **Nunavut Boy** , are there many cars in Iqaluit? With no road links off Baffin Island, I would imagine most of them are service vehicles: taxis, utility trucks, etc? Is there a new-car dealer, or do you order from Outside? Also, how are the plans for a road into southwestern Nunavut from Manitoba coming? I understand there is mining activity west of Baker Lake? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/43 "2005-08-10T03:26:41Z")
Delaware, where I grew up, uses NNNNNN. Yep – most Delaware plates are simply six digits long. We have a small enough state (we still don’t quite have a million residents) that this hasn’t become a problem yet. Six digits is the norm, but for a leading zero, you just get a shorter license plate number. My dad bought our town’s zip code as his license plate. Four-digit plates are tougher to find, and sell through the classified ads as _status symbols_ for luxury cars, or birthday gifts (e.g. someone celebrating a 60th birthday today might have a friend who finds and buys “8945” for them to put on their GrannyMobile). Three-digit plates are very flashy, and tend to get passed around families or sold at auction. The two- and one-digit plates are generally reserved for state officials (Delaware license plate “1” is the governor; “2” is the Lt. Gov) or held by old-money families in the state. Transferring your plate to someone else for an agreed-to sum is a relatively simple matter, and amounts to just one more weird little quirk of Delawarean life. ---
**Author:** ![Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@Chance\_the\_Gardener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chance_the_Gardener)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/44 "2005-08-10T04:52:51Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Delaware, where I grew up, uses NNNNNN. Yep – most Delaware plates are simply six digits long. We have a small enough state (we still don’t quite have a million residents) that this hasn’t become a problem yet. > > Six digits is the norm, but for a leading zero, you just get a shorter license plate number. My dad bought our town’s zip code as his license plate. Four-digit plates are tougher to find, and sell through the classified ads as _status symbols_ for luxury cars, or birthday gifts (e.g. someone celebrating a 60th birthday today might have a friend who finds and buys “8945” for them to put on their GrannyMobile). Three-digit plates are very flashy, and tend to get passed around families or sold at auction. The two- and one-digit plates are generally reserved for state officials (Delaware license plate “1” is the governor; “2” is the Lt. Gov) or held by old-money families in the state. > > Transferring your plate to someone else for an agreed-to sum is a relatively simple matter, and amounts to just one more weird little quirk of Delawarean life. I’ve heard this about Delaware plates, and it simply fascinates me. What’s stranger still is that although I’ve been watching plates since I was a little kid, I never noticed any of the old Delaware plates until someone told me about this when I was in college. Granted, I grew up in western Pennsylvania, so Delaware plates of any kind were a relative rarity, but nowadays it seems that I see these classic Delaware plates pretty regularly. (In New York City, you do see many more out-of-state plates than you would in a small Pennsylvania town.) One thing that has always perplexed me is the symbol that’s a sort of combination of the letters P and C, with the P on top. This seems to appear on pickups and vans from Delaware. Any idea what that’s all about? > [@gfloyd](#): > > The thing I really want to know is what do the plates in Isreal look like? Do they use Hebrew or Roman letters. What about for the numbers, as the letters are also a numbering system. I don’t know about Israel, but I’ve seen Russian plates on TV, and they use Russian letters. Arabic plates seem to use Arabic characters, so I’d assume that Israeli plates would use Hebrew characters. A quick googling shows that [Israeli plates are mostly numbers](http://www.pl8s.com/i/isra.htm), with one small Hebrew character on them. Among Arab countries, there’s apparently some variance, as that same site indicates. [Bahrain](http://www.pl8s.com/b/bahr.htm) has plates in both Roman characters with Arabic numerals, right along with their equivalents in Arabic characters with Egyptian numerals. [Yemen](http://www.pl8s.com/wxyz/uyem.htm) likes to keep it all local, though. The home page of my source is good, but there’s a lot of broken links, which is annoying. Here it is: [http://www.pl8s.com/](http://www.pl8s.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/45 "2005-08-10T05:38:27Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > **Nunavut Boy** , are there many cars in Iqaluit? With no road links off Baffin Island, I would imagine most of them are service vehicles: taxis, utility trucks, etc? Is there a new-car dealer, or do you order from Outside? > > Also, how are the plans for a road into southwestern Nunavut from Manitoba coming? I understand there is mining activity west of Baker Lake? Surprisingly, there are too many cars for the roads we do have due to the fast growth of the town in the last few years. Most cars are privately owned, although there are a lot of government vehicles. We even have traffic jams! With no automated traffic controls (just 4 way stops) the traffic at a few busy intersections slows to a crawl and backs up for a few (real) city blocks during lunch time and at 5 o’clock. There is no car dealer as you would recognize down south; that said there is a ‘Driving Force’ car rental place that also sells new vehicles. (you have to order them out of a catalog, there is no showroom or stock). Many people buy cars in Ottawa or Montreal and arrange to have them shipped up in the summertime. Although there are quite a number of cars and minivans, if it ain’t got 4 wheel drive you’re going to get stuck a fair bit especially if you try driving when the weather gets ugly. The weather up here is also murderous on cars…rubber seals and joints fail regularly. Your post is the first I hear of a highway between Baker Lake and Manitoba, but then again Baker is quite a distance from me. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/46 "2005-08-10T08:11:23Z")
[QUOTE=Nunavut Boy] Surprisingly, there are too many cars for the roads we do have due to the fast growth of the town in the last few years. Most cars are privately owned, although there are a lot of government vehicles. We even have traffic jams! With no automated traffic controls (just 4 way stops) the traffic at a few busy intersections slows to a crawl and backs up for a few (real) city blocks during lunch time and at 5 o’clock. There is no car dealer as you would recognize down south; that said there is a ‘Driving Force’ car rental place that also sells new vehicles. (you have to order them out of a catalog, there is no showroom or stock). Many people buy cars in Ottawa or Montreal and arrange to have them shipped up in the summertime. Although there are quite a number of cars and minivans, if it ain’t got 4 wheel drive you’re going to get stuck a fair bit especially if you try driving when the weather gets ugly. The weather up here is also murderous on cars…rubber seals and joints fail regularly. \*\*Thanks, **NB**! Say… you don’t have a Starbucks or a McDonalds, do you? 🙂 > [@](#): > > Your post is the first I hear of a highway between Baker Lake and Manitoba, but then again Baker is quite a distance from me. I sometimes read the [Nunavut news](http://www.nunatsiaq.com/) online, and it mentioned a plan for either a mine or a hydro project west of Baker Lake, and there was mentioned the planning for a road north from, I think, Thompson, MB. And during the past couple of weeks, I saw an article about diamond mining in the same area. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/47 "2005-08-10T08:27:52Z")
Hawaii LLL ### For our most recent standard Oahu plates started with letters on A and went through B, C, D, E, F, G and J. Now we’re working on N. In fact we’re days away from finishing and moving on to P. I’ve seen NXT plates. When we ditched the Kamehameha plates for the rainbow plates people had to replace A through E. M is for Maui Co. H for Hawaii Co. K for Kauai Co. We do not use letters I, L, Q and O because they look like 1, 1, 0 and 0. Although oddly enough I have seen an extremely small amount of cards with normal looking plates with L in it. And I look for these things because … I don’t know. The bus system uses BUS ### with the numbers being the number of the bus, Police are HPD ### and the fire dept. are HFD ###. City & County vehicles start with C&C. For some reason some trucks are TLL ### and some commercial vehicles are ### LLL. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/48 "2005-08-10T08:41:05Z")
[Here](http://www.worldlicenseplates.com/) is a very cool site which shows license plates throughout the world. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2005, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713/49 "2005-08-10T08:42:29Z")
P.S. I believe plates can go bad. So the counties simply keep going through their plates when they finish. So Hawaii county can make 484,000 plates. 1 x 22 x 22 x 10 x 10 x 10. I’ve seen HZZ plates so they just go around. I still remember our plate from 82 (it rhymed) and it was in the same pattern. So the counties just cycle through their plates over and over and Oahu gets the rest of the alphabet. We finished things up and then restarted around 1990. So it looks like we average a letter (or 484,000 cars) every 20 months. Damn, that’s a long wait till they finish Z again. I want to see what comes next already. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-states-license-plate-numbering-convention/313713.md?page=2)